AO 2013 R4: Murray [3] vs Simon [14]

Not the most interesting match as the result was never in doubt - good that Andy's won all his matches in straight sets though. Simon did well to continue with the match when he can't have been feeling great. Hope Andy gets more of a test in the QF though.

i am not too fussed about andys performance so far, i think he has done what he has needed to do so far. I am quietly optimistic.

What i will say is this, he is practising at koo yong (or whatever it is) where the courts are as fast as the rod laver arena, great thinking by lendl as it gives murray an edge in the second week.

I think some of the mis-hit shots andy has played so far in this tournament is due to this fact as the ball is not getting to him as quickly as he is expecting it to, i think it will pay him dividends in the 2nd week where murray will be playing on rod laver from now on. REALLY looking forward to the rest of aussie 2013.

I personally very happy with Andy's play. I remember Nadal being interviewed once saying that there is no point in exhausting yourself just to attain a great score line, a win is a win. I have felt all along that he is only playing as hard as he needs to. I may be wrong.

You may think VW's opinions are irrelevant but surely she's entitled to exist. I seem to remember she won Wimbledon in the fifties Do you also include Mr Lendll in your dismissal of the "Old Guard" or is he exempt?

Lendl, to my knowledge, is not nor has ever been resentful of current players. He accepts the nature of tennis has changed as have the players, he's not stuck in the past.

The match wasn't on at the best time for me today, my carer was here helping me get up and so on, but I won't complain. It's funny though, when you have the TV on in the bedroom and you are in the shower, and the carer, who knows less about tennis than the average Eurosport commentator, is calling out the score to keep you informed. I just need to explain the difference between games and sets to her and we'll be fine .

On Eurosport two on the TV it was David Mercer and that Nick whatsisface commentating. I always think a measure of Andy is whether or not Mercer spends the match on his high horse picking faults left, right and centre. He didn't today. Sure, there was an awareness of the number of UE's, but also an acknowledgement that Andy was doing what needed to be done, i.e. getting the win. It doesn't always have to look pretty.

I'm impressed that Simon saw the match through, even though the result was never in doubt. I have to say, I think he might have troubled Andy a wee bit more if he'd been fit, but I think Andy would still have won pretty handily.

It was interesting to hear what Andy said when he spoke to Crofty, an interview shown a while after the match. He mentioned the match against Berankis and today and talked about his rhythm not being quite as he would have liked. He said he'd spoken to Lendl about it and Lendl told him not to worry, so I'm going to follow that advice. Andy will do everything he can to be better, not that he is playing that badly, but less UE's would make life easier later, so I don't see any reason to panic. Andy is through to the quarter finals without dropping a set, so he should have loads in the tank for the business end of the tournament. If Andy can sharpen up a bit I think he'll get through Chardy all right (forget Cincinatti, it isn't relevant), but even if Chardy has a go I think Andy will find a way, which will get him going for Federer and beyond. God help me, I still agree with Rusedski!

Must say as well, it was great to see Ross Hutchins this morning. I do wish him well with the treatment, because it isn't nice. My niece finished chemo about three weeks ago and had a bad time with her last couple of sessions especially, because they were a higher dose than she could have whilst she was pregnant. I'm assuming Ross may be on a high dose, so it was great to see him looking good. My niece found when she was on it that after a treatment she would be okay for a day or two and then it would kick in, making her tired and so on. When she had the higher dose it took her longer to bounce back, so I'm sure Ross will have good days and bad days. All the best to him.

As for VW, the woman isn't remotely sorry about she said at the FO, if anything you would think she'd done Andy a favour! Patronising old cow! Believe me, I ranted that at the TV this morning and it made me feel much better . When she said she'd got into trouble for what she said, presumably from some of the press and so on, and that others had jumped on the bandwagon, or words to that effect, I thought she was going to say sorry, but not a bit of it. Unbelievable. GRRR!

I fell asleep (not sure when) and forgot to set the alarm but exactly at 1:55am I received a call from Nigeria. It seemed like a wrong number as no one left any messages and I don't know anyone from that country, but it did wake me up just in time. I don’t ever remember getting calls at this hour so that was strange. Anyway, I am not sure if this was on TV but I decided to watch it on the live stream while I was in my bed. I think I was half asleep and half-awake throughout the match. lol. Anyway, Andy never had to change gears for this match and I guess he can reserve all the energy and competiveness for later rounds. Good showing by Simon after his marathon match against Monfils.

So Chardy is next instead of Seppi. I thought he injured his knee in the doubles but looked fine last night. I must say he’s doing remarkably well in this tournament. These sorts of players tend to fizzle after a great performance but Chardy has clearly not falling in that trap. Seppi is not of course Top Ten caliber so Chardy always had a chance against him. I don’t think otherwise he would have survived back to back big matches.

And revenge time for Andy I suppose but he should keep things casual and do what’s only necessary. He needs to get ready for the semi and possibly later the Final. One match at a time though.

I fell asleep actually watching the match on Sky+ Record at 8am this morning and later fast forwarded through most of it. Wasn't exactly a riveting spectacle but Andy did what he needed to do. Simon's movement was 'off' from the start. Tournament starts now

Must admit I thought Andy would win. Poor Simon did try but it was obvious he could not run fast enough. It was an effort he did try and the game was not all one sided. Must give him credit for even turning up to play. Apparently he was in hospital for 3 hour because he was so sore and dehydrated. You really cannot expect to people to come on court as fresh as a daisy after such a long match.

Lb, according to what was said this morning, Simon wasn't in hospital, but he did spend 3 hours with the doctor after the match with Monfils. He also could not do his presser after the match and ended up doing it yesterday. He apparently said in his presser that he has no recollection at all of the first set of the match with Monfils. That surely indicates the state he was in after the match.

Also, watched some of Andy and Simon again this afternoon. Did anyone else notice the smile Andy and Simon exchanged at match point? It looked like they were both thinking something along the lines of 'well this was inevitable', but I thought it was sporting of both men. Also loved the way Andy was gracious in victory (I've already said that) and Simon was gracious in defeat. I don't quite know what Lendl would have thought of Andy smiling at an opponent, but there we are lol.

They are human beings not robots. Andy was bound to feel sympathetic towards Simon as would most people He turned up for the match and at least tried and played as best he could. That says a lot about him many others would probably have defaulted the game without even trying.